ARA RANKS IN THE TOP 10 IN TERMS OF REVENUE, YET MORE NEW TRAINS AND STOPPAGE ARE AWAITED

ARA RANKS IN THE TOP 10 IN TERMS OF REVENUE, YET MORE NEW TRAINS AND STOPPAGE ARE AWAITED

17-SEP-ENG 23

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

ARA-----------------------Ara Junction, on the Patna-Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Junction section of the Danapur Division of East Central Railway, has once again set a new record in revenue. Ara Junction has maintained its dominance in the top 10, surpassing all stations in Shahabad and several major stations in the Danapur Division. In terms of revenue, it has even surpassed stations like Patliputra, from where the Rajdhani Express and several other trains operate. According to data received from the Department of Commerce from April to November of the financial year 2024-2025, Ara Junction ranks 10th with a total revenue of ₹805.7 million. Of this, ₹228.4 million came from passengers with unreserved tickets and ₹577.2 million from passengers with reserved tickets, totaling over ₹805.7 million. The number of passengers traveling from Ara during the same period. The number of passengers who terminated their journey at Ara Junction was 4,479,477,000. The total footfall at Ara Junction during this period was 4,292,654. Thus, the total footfall at Ara Junction during this period was 8,772,121. In terms of revenue, Patna tops the list, followed by Danapur in second, Muzaffarpur in third, Rajendra Nagar in ninth, Pataliputra in 11th, and Buxar in 12th. Ara Junction has experienced an unprecedented increase in passenger traffic, which can be directly reflected in a significant increase in revenue. It is expected that by the end of the 2024-2025 financial year, Ara Junction will join the 100-crore club of stations.

For a long time, passengers have been demanding stoppages of the Rajdhani Express and Patna-Indore trains at Ara Junction. However, no concrete decision has been taken by the Danapur-Hajipur headquarters. It should be noted that the Eastern Railway also has Rajdhani Express stops at stations with lower revenues than Ara. A recent example is the stoppage of the 12423/24 Dibrugarh Rajdhani Express at Mansi (Khagaria). The Patna Indore Express, despite its demand for a stop at Ara, was instead given a stop at Buxar, resulting in widespread anger among passengers.

The Capital Express and Kolkata Garib Rath have currently been extended as special services from Ara Junction until 31 December 2024, which has benefited passengers, but requires two reservations for travel. Permanently extending both trains to Ara would not only significantly increase revenue but also enhance passenger amenities. The Ara Junction Railfan Club and local passenger organizations have demanded that both trains be permanently extended to Ara Junction, which would not only help the 13287/88 South Bihar Express run on time. Due to which the long pending demand of the passengers of Ara and surrounding areas for direct trains to Katihar/Siliguri/Kamakhya as well as Howrah/Kolkata will be fulfilled.